50 Coolest NBA Sneakers of All-Time

When Michael Jordan entered the NBA, he already had a shoe deal in place. He wore Converse in college, at University of North Carolina, but was a big fan of Adidas. However, Adidas was not in a place to offer Michael Jordan the same deal Nike was able to give him ($500,000/year for his first 5 years in the league). So he ended up signing with Nike and not long after, created the iconic Air Jordan brand.

During the early 80’s, Nike changed the way sneakers were used in the NBA and was even banned from being worn in the league because of their shoe colors not matching the team uniforms. But that did not stop the Nike revolution and they paid the fine, made a commercial, and continued selling the Air Jordans at a rate that was never seen before. Nike was worth around $1 billion dollars in 1985 and $100 of it came from the Air Jordan franchise. In 2016, the Jordan brand reported a revenue of $2.8 billion.

Thanks to Nike and Michael Jordan, sneakers in the NBA have become their own fashion genre. Basketball sneakers have become so popular that people wear them without ever stepping foot on a basketball court, ever.

Some players can even end up signing a massive shoe endorsement deal without ever earning as much as an All-Star game appearance. “Big Country” Bryant Reeves (who actually had a deal with the same company, Warner Bros., that gave us Bugs Bunny and Wil E. Coyote), Bobby Hurley, John Wallace, Matthew Dellavedova, and Jimmer Fredette all had shoe endorsement deals and we all know about their NBA careers.

In 2019, Zion Williamson signed the largest-ever rookie shoe deal with Nike’s Jordan Brand. Apparently he’s over that busted sneaker incident from College. His contract inspired us to create our list of the Fifty Coolest Basketball Sneakers of All-Time. Enjoy.

50) Hakeem The Dream

  • Year: 1995
  • Brand: Spalding
  • Colors: Black/White/Red
  • Made Famous By: Hakeem Olajuwon

49) Shox BB4

  • Year: 2000
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/Silver/Lapis
  • Made Famous By: Vince Carter

48) Big Fundamental

  • Year: 2010
  • Brand: adidas
  • Colors: Black/Running White/Metallic Silver
  • Made Famous By: Tim Duncan

47) Melo M10

  • Year: 2014
  • Brand: Jordan
  • Colors: Dark Powder Blue/Team Orange
  • Made Famous By: Carmelo Anthony

46) adiZero Rose 2

  • Year: 2010
  • Brand: adidas
  • Colors: Black/Red/White
  • Made Famous By: Derrick Rose

45) Answer IV

  • Year: 2000
  • Brand: Reebok
  • Colors: Black/White
  • Made Famous By: Allen Iverson

44) Jabbar Hi

  • Year: 1971
  • Brand: adidas
  • Colors: Blue/White
  • Made Famous By: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

43) Curry 2.5

  • Year: 2016
  • Brand: Under Armour
  • Colors: Team Royal, Midnight Navy
  • Made Famous By: Stephen Curry

42) Air Zoom Huarache 2K4

  • Year: 2004
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Navy Blue/White
  • Made Famous By: Kobe Bryant

41) Jordan 12 Retro “The Master”

  • Year: 2016
  • Brand: Jordan
  • Colors: Black/White/Metallic Gold
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

40) Aero Jam

  • Year: 1992
  • Brand: Converse
  • Colors: Black/White/Multi-Colored
  • Made Famous By: Larry Johnson

39) Crazy 8 “University Red”

  • Year: 2013
  • Brand: adidas
  • Colors: Red/White/Black
  • Made Famous By: Damian Lillard

38) Jordan 11 Retro “Space Jam”

  • Year: 2016
  • Brand: Jordan
  • Colors: Black/Concord White
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

37) Shaq Attaq

  • Year: 1993
  • Brand: Reebok
  • Colors: White/Azure Steel/Black
  • Made Famous By: Shaquille O’Neal

36) Air More Uptempo

  • Year: 1996
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/White
  • Made Famous By: Scottie Pippen

35) Answer I

  • Year: 1997
  • Brand: Reebok
  • Colors: Black/White/Metallic Gold/Red
  • Made Famous By: Allen Iverson

34) KB8

  • Year: 1997
  • Brand: adidas
  • Colors: Black/White
  • Made Famous By: Kobe Bryant

33) Air Penny I

  • Year: 1995
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/Royal Blue/White
  • Made Famous By: Penny Hardaway

32) Air Jordan XIII

  • Year: 1997
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/Varsity Red
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

31) Zoom Flight V

  • Year: 1997
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/White/Royal Blue
  • Made Famous By: Jason Kidd

30) T-Mac 2

  • Year: 2002
  • Brand: adidas
  • Colors: White/Royal Blue
  • Made Famous By: Tracy McGrady

29) Puma Clyde’s

  • Year: 1973
  • Brand: Puma
  • Colors: Royal Blue/White
  • Made Famous By: Walt Frazier

28) Air Jordan IV

  • Year: 1989
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Fire Red/White/Black
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

27) Air Garnett III

  • Year: 1999
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: White/Black/Blue
  • Made Famous By: Kevin Garnett

26) Air Max2 CB34

  • Year: 1994
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/White/Purple
  • Made Famous By: Charles Barkley

25) Kobe V

  • Year: 2010
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Metallic Silver/Black Ice
  • Made Famous By: Kobe Bryant

24) Flight ’98 “The Glove”

  • Year: 1998
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/Red/White
  • Made Famous By: Gary Payton

23) Air Max LeBron VII

  • Year: 2009
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Team Red/Black/Metallic Silver
  • Made Famous By: LeBron James

22) Shaqnosis

  • Year: 1992
  • Brand: Reebok
  • Colors: White/Black
  • Made Famous By: Shaquille O’Neal

21) D Rose 4.5

  • Year: 2014
  • Brand: adidas
  • Colors: Clear Grey/Light Scarlet/Dark Onyx
  • Made Famous By: Derrick Rose

20) Air Jordan XII

  • Year: 1996
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: White/Black
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

19) Air Max Uptempo

  • Year: 1995
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: White/Black
  • Made Famous By: Scottie Pippen

18) Kamikaze II

  • Year: 1995
  • Brand: Reebok
  • Colors: White/Black/Racing Green
  • Made Famous By: Shawn Kemp

17) Air Zoom Generation

  • Year: 2003
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/White/Varsity Crimson
  • Made Famous By: LeBron James

16) Kobe IV

  • Year: 2009
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/Concord Blue/Gold
  • Made Famous By: Kobe Bryant

15) Flightposite II KG

  • Year: 2000
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black
  • Made Famous By: Kevin Garnett

14) Zoom KD 4 “Weatherman”

  • Year: 2011
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Lush Green/Volt Black/Team Orange
  • Made Famous By: Kevin Durant

13) Air Jordan I

  • Year: 1985
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/Varsity Red
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

12) Pump

  • Year: 1989
  • Brand: Reebok
  • Colors: White/Blue/Orange
  • Made Famous By: Dominique Wilkins

11) Air Jordan VI

  • Year: 1991
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: White/Fire Red
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

10) Kyrie 3

  • Year: 2017
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: White/Chrome
  • Made Famous By: Kyrie Irving

9) Air Foamposite I

  • Year: 1997
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Dark Neon Royal/White/Black
  • Made Famous By: Penny Hardaway

8) Kobe VIII

  • Year: 2013
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Orange/Galaxy/White
  • Made Famous By: Kobe Bryant

7) Air Jordan V

  • Year: 1990
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: White/Fire Red
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

6) Question

  • Year: 1996
  • Brand: Reebok
  • Colors: White/Red Pearl
  • Made Famous By: Allen Iverson

5) Grant Hill’s

  • Year: 1995
  • Brand: FILA
  • Colors: White/Royal Blue/Red
  • Made Famous By: Grant Hill

4) LeBron VIII

  • Year: 2010
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: Black/White/Red
  • Made Famous By: LeBron James

3) Air Jordan XI

  • Year: 1995
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: White/Black/Dark Concord
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan

2) Weapon “Magic”

  • Year: 1986
  • Brand: Converse
  • Colors: Purple/Gold/White
  • Made Famous By: Magic Johnson

1) Air Jordan III

  • Year: 1988
  • Brand: Nike
  • Colors: White/Cement Grey/Fire Red
  • Made Famous By: Michael Jordan